


Swords Into Ploughshares

by altairstars



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: How Do I Tag, M/M, Smut ahead, War, Warzone, more characters as the story goes, worldwar!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:55:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25797781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altairstars/pseuds/altairstars
Summary: Mingi turned away from the flight to defend his country, his home.In war he found love, in peace they found despair.⚠trigger warning: murder, blood, violence, scars, some graphic description, vomit, sex⚠YunHOE inside
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Swords Into Ploughshares

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Swords Into Ploughshares](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/664048) by ichinisan1-3. 



> This story is an original story by ichinisan1-3 in wattpad, I am only reposting it here, and you can see the original in wattpad, the link is here. Happy reading~!

_As it was said before_

_War is war_

_Every side is a loser_

_Maybe there’s a lesser loser_

_But we all lose in war_

_Because the only one that winning from all of it_

_It is war_

Pyongyang, 1950, December

Mingi always thought he was a militant youth, both in the art he made and in his academic field. Not shy. Not quietly like a cat. Tonight he fell asleep for a while behind the leaves. Cold nights no longer pierced the skin as the first night he arrived at this other peninsula of Korea. Pyongyang, Mingi who was born in Incheon and grew up in Seoul when his doctor father got a position as an internist there, always dreamed of going around all of Korea someday. His mother always told him about his relatives living in Pyongyang, he said many of his mother's cousins lived there. She promised him that one day they would visit there.

Promise when he was a child.

But then life happened.

They moved to Seoul.

His father was increasingly busy and did not have time to take a vacation too far.

His brother received a scholarship to America, a year before the war in Asia-Pacific and Germany-Europe broke out.

Mingi’s brother helped in England as a physician's assistant or something like that during World War II. Mingi imagined he was the only Korean doctor there.

The second world war might have hit the Korean peninsula a bit too much, but Mingi remembered his father and mother sharing the same concerns about his brother.

They lived in a fairly safe environment, and his father's position as a senior doctor in Seoul got Mingi’s family less chaotic, during the war. They had underground bunkers.

It was still traumatic, of course. Every time an American or Japanese warplane crossed over them. But they have never been directly involved with the horror. And that the status of your country was a colony, still. Seoul, especially in the main areas of the city, was not exactly the most terrible thing you could live in during the Second World War. Japan was more focused on mastery of the Asia Pacific, German as their alliance were not so interested in the small peninsula. Horn among the mighty tanks.

The war was over. 1948, Mingi's brother returned home full of boastfulness, a medal of honor, and a nightmare loomed over his eyelids.

Mingi was also being prepared to enter Seoul University, following in the footsteps of his father becoming a doctor. When this civil war broke out.

Mingi was not so sure.

He remembered over the past few months receiving leaflets from North Korean propaganda. Said that the government in the capital now only contained Americans.

Mingi didn't care about it until the summer of last year.

He got off the tram train. Walking to his house when the announcement and the army car came.

Announcing that the northern peninsula launched an attack.

Suddenly. They were in a war.

War was just like his father's daily newspaper, delivered in front of the house.

Screams broke out, babies crying on the streets, crying women who had to leave the house.

Mingi’s brother who had acquaintances and quite a lot of connections in America, suggested they and their family migrate to America. Of course with the risk that they leave everything. Leaving his homeland. Leaving the kimchi his mother has been fermenting since spring. Leaving the peach tree where he and his brother climbed when enjoying the view.

His father refused. But he asked his brother to bring Mingi and his mother.

Mingi probably should have followed his father's last request.

"Mingi..." called Jongho, his foxhole's friend tonight. This two meter deep hole was where they slept in Pyongyang. "It's my turn, your eyes are like pandas," he said half-yawning. Mingi remembered when he last dared to yawn like that. Mingi could adjust to all life perfunctory at this time. His clothes were damp and dirty because he rolled in the mud mixed with melting snow avoiding mortar fire by North Korean-Chinese troops. His feet, which seemed to have merged with his boots, had never taken off his shoes since three days ago when he arrived at Wonsan Beach with US Force troops on their warship.

One thing that he still wasn't used to as a new soldier in this battle was the smell of corpses. They have buried some of their friends. At least kept away the corpses of the enemy also from where they were now guarded. But the scent was still smelled. Blood and flesh. Like a carcass. Mingi never liked it every time his mother took him to the market with their servants, especially when going to the meat department, either beef, pork or chicken. Raw meat had Mingi sick. And in the end humans also remain only flesh. _Meat is meat_ , his brother had muttered in one of his nightmares.

Mingi has killed and almost being killed in these two days.

Realizing that humans were flesh. Lying around. Piling up. Like wreckage. Like nothing.

Mingi wondered, maybe he should have followed his mother and brother to flee to America.

"What's wrong with you tonight? You will not suddenly become maniac, will you? Because even though you're annoying sometimes, you don't want to kill your own friend if you suddenly go crazy and shout our coordinates at guerrilla enemies.” Jongho lit his cigarette. Using the m1903 rifle as a buffer, when he squatted, avoiding the muddy ground so as not to touch his pants.

Mingi who Jongho offered cigarette to, shook his head slowly, smiling. They were not friends in the training camp, but they had known each other when they were gathered in Incheon before the invasion three days ago began.

"Thinking about how my mother and my brother are... that's all."

"Ah," Jongho said, throwing out his cigarette smoke first then continued, "there is no news yet? You said you left them last in Busan before walking back to Seoul, right? "

"I did." That was three months ago. They wandered through the forest, slept during the day, walked at night. Their small group consisted of three families, eight men, five women, three boys and a baby girl. "According to my brother's calculations, they should have reached America by now. But there has been no reply from the address my brother gave me."

Jongho made a sound he caught Mingi's intentions, his close friend's concern. "Just sleep now. Maybe if we can return to the camp and rest, your letter will be waiting there," Jongho said as he tapped his shoulder. Mingi appreciated his friend's efforts to calm him down. After all, they were never taught in a military camp how to deal with an emotional foxhole friend who remembered his family.

They were only taught how to shoot a rifle, M3/A1 a.k.a Grease Gun and fire donated mortars from America. Only taught to throw grenades. Fight with a knife. Maybe a little basic way to deal with gunshot wounds and burns.

Mingi pinched his nose, covering his sense of smell from the scent of earth and snow.

At least not blood.

No wonder his brother came home carrying a pile of nasty memories. Residing in his head.

Incarnating in his dreams.

***

Ronghwa Camp, 1951

"JONGHO!!!" A young man in a green uniform and remnants of mud ran to hug Jongho. Mingi did not clearly see the young man's face because Jongho immediately hugged him back. They hugged long enough. If Mingi could think things out, they looked like lovers who haven't seen each other for a long time. But of course not, they might be friends in the training camp.

"Yeosang... you're getting thinner..."

"Tell yourself that, mud man," said the young man with a radiant face, who then cleared his throat softly. Like just realizing Mingi was next to them. "Are you a new part of our troop?"

Mingi nodded.

Jongho with a sad smile said, "Early yesterday there was a guerilla attack on our platoon, I lost almost all troop except Song Mingi..."

What a dramatic introduction, Mingi thought.

"You won't lose many friends if you are not a group of sissy!" A voice from the west sounded. In a pile of oil drums, fuel for the tank, cross-legged sitting with a small smile, without tops, disheveled hair, and parched lips. There were the scorching remnants of the sun burning skin and mud marks on his face which might never be completely erased. Mingi thought, this young man is very ugly, how dare he call Mingi and Jongho who just lost their friends as a group of sissy.

"Yunho... be nice, they just lost their friends."

The young man called Yunho then jumped. Walking towards them as if he was the adjutant of the ruling landowner in this region.

When he was close to Mingi, the first thing Mingi realized was his round eyes and remained white chest even though the skin on his arms and face was sunburned and blackened. Secondly, for someone who was trying to bully a new army, Yunho was apparently shorter than Mingi.

"Watch your step, kid..." he said to Mingi then went. Walking towards the American troop camp.

Mingi realized he was paying too close attention to the young man's figure when he heard Yeosang let out a loud sigh. You know, a sigh of disappointment, like a Mother found her child going into the house with muddy feet. Something like that. "Ignore Yunho... That bitch can't really watch his mouth. Come on, I’ll show you our tents and after that you can clean up in the drain near the kitchen." Yeosang tapped Mingi's shoulder as if to cheer. Then going hand in hand with Jongho.

They were busy exchanging stories, Mingi was busy organizing his thoughts, blurring the burning faces of his close friends, skin that had melted due to the explosion. Calling Mingi’s name in the dark. While Jongho pulled him away.

"They will not survive," the captain said as he rescued the only member he might have saved.

***

Their new group captain named Kim Hongjoong, he got Mingi and Jongho clean up within ten minutes even though they were on a break. He said all members of his group must be familiar with discipline even during this kind of break. He did not want his soldiers to become soft and increase the posibility of losing members. Mingi tried to sympathize with the responsibilities as captain, Jongho did not care about the demotion of his rank, he was more concerned with the responsibility of losing five of his members.

Mingi really tried to sympathize until he made jokes about kimchi and tteokboki. Which was not funny at all. The other five people in the tent did not laugh at all except Seonghwa, the deputy captain. According to Yeosang’s explanation, Hongjoong and Seonghwa have known each other for a long time. Hongjoong would get married a month before the war began before then losing Jeon Soyeon, his lover on the invasion of South Korean troops to Seoul. Since then Hongjoong and Seonghwa seemed very protective. Mingi quoted Yeosang, "You must see them on the battlefield directly, their movements were like synchronized dances with each other."

Next was San, Mingi didn't really catch his surname. Just San. Yeosang called him Sanjook but San glared at the call, so Mingi tried not to remember his name. He handed a kind of sweet food to Mingi and Jongho as soon as they finished cleaning up.

"Chocolate bar... I stole it yesterday from the trunk of the American troops..." he said with a smile that reminded Mingi of the villain in the comic. Seemed like efforts to intimidate Mingi, unfortunately Wooyoung always had a way to frustrate San's intimidating aura. He also liked to trick Seonghwa with almost overly childish jokes, like farting, and such. Of course it would not last long because their captain would certainly defend his deputy captain.

Mingi already felt like he had a new home for a week at the camp. He began to get along, even Jongho who initially only talked to Mingi and Yeosang began to open up to his new friends. Joking about the giant crab he found not only ate coconuts but also the lying flesh of soldiers. They joked about the village girls they met on the way from the training camp to the war camp. How their beauty was a reason for them to go forward to defend their country. Mingi wasn't sure, but Jongho and Yeosang looked uncomfortable whenever there was talk about women. Likewise Seonghwa, but Hongjoong reasoned because Seonghwa had never been in love before. Mingi chuckled at Wooyoung's joke about Seonghwa might die as a virgin. Seonghwa would pout for a moment but then laughed. Mingi started to not be too stiff on them. Only one person, Yunho. That one human, he had no idea how to explain it.

Other than that Yunho had a leather pouch he tied in such a way as to the waistband of his pants, something about Yunho had Mingi's small eyes follow wherever he walked. Mingi didn't try to be a stalker. He had no idea. Mingi stopped following Yunho after asking San what in the leather pouch Yunho carried everywhere was.

"Oh. That... Yunho collected golden teeth from the corpses of Chinese and Japanese troops. Many soldiers here collect them,” he said while chewing chocolate candy Mingi was sure he got from gambling last night with American and British soldiers.

Oh, Mingi thought. He knew about this kind of habit, some of his friends in the previous platoon also did the same. But they never actively collected, at least that was what Mingi knew. At most they only had one or two items. And seeing the size of the leather pouch hung from Yunho's pants, there were at least dozens almost one hundred gold teeth there.

"He sometimes takes teeth from dying soldiers, slashing their jaws with his hunting knives in one stroke," said Seonghwa who overheard their conversation.

Mingi stopped paying attention to Yunho, the shorter young man was now increasingly intimidating.

Only last a day, the next day Mingi returned. Maybe the intimidating aura was indeed a magnet in itself, or over time, Mingi thought, Yunho wasn't that ugly either.

They shared each other's dark jokes. But somehow Yunho's jokes always sounded more cynical and more real. They joked about death, about life that might not be long. But you shouldn't joke about death when one of your army colleagues just died of hepatitis or malaria. You were not joking about a short life when one of your teammates received word by letter that his younger sister died of fever while trying to cross the North and South Korean border. Something about those round eyes was no longer friendly. As if his innocence was uprooted long ago, long before the war began.

Yunho was an anomaly in the middle of an abnormal life between wars. Mingi watched Yunho like to tie his uniform around his waist and shirtless, but strangely his chest still looked white compared to the rest of the covered skin. He more often went to the tents of American troops. Mingi had seen him walking hand in hand with one of the American soldiers towards the forest at night. When he returned to the tent that night, Mingi was the only one who was still awake seeing kissmarks on Yunho's white chest. The next day he was not shirtless.

There was no news when they left for the battlefield again. Something slightly different from Mingi's expectations when registering as a soldier was how long before he went to war to defend his country, to defend his nation's freedom. Sometimes this boredom was the most killing among the possibility of being bitten by a malaria mosquito or contracting bronchitis because your group friend coughed up blood in the same barracks as you. Boredom, paranoia at the end of the road, about the possibility of invasion, about the possibility of your blood brothers who were now enemies. Mingi was sometimes jealous of American troops, it would have been easier for them to kill North Korean troops. San told him that on his first charge he had to watch Wooyoung killing his own cousin, not a distant cousin, but the son of his father's sister.

Boredom got him nervous.

Fighting among groups vulnerably occured. Sometimes because of something as small as cheating in a card game. Sometimes because some of the young men who became South Korean soldiers, in ROKA– _the name of South Korean troops_ –uniforms, but in their heads, they were not completely opposed to what the North was fighting for. A promise about a life of harmony where there were no rich and poor, all equal. Absolute compliance with fluffier rice gifts for children's food.

The South might promise a freedom. But have we ever been truly free? Mingi wondered.

So he spent his time reading. They could spend a month to three months sitting aimlessly at rest camps, before then they were sent to the battlefield again. Maybe because almost all young men were forced to fight. They didn't always need every energy in every confrontation. Especially with the large number of American reinforcements coming. They could spend only a month before the attack and then rest for three months. Not resting to be exact either. They still had to be vigilant, when the majority were concerned about the condition of their families in refugee camps.

Mingi hasn't received a reply from his brother, so he spent his time reading books to avoid the madness of the emptiness of his mind.

Mingi had just returned from the tent of a small library with his new book, cooking recipes, books in English donated by American troops, when he saw Yunho once again going hand in hand with one of the American soldiers.

"You know, if you are interested you can get service from Yunho too at the right price." Seonghwa seemed to have just come from the medical department, checking his teeth which he complained of three days ago.

"What?"

"Sexual service..." Seonghwa whispered to him. "The price is getting cheaper lately, initially a few dollars and a box of cigarette... Yesterday I saw he only came home with three cigarette butts."

"Isn't this prohibited?"

Seonghwa smiled slightly at Mingi's innocent question. "The sodomy or the prostitution?"

Mingi gaped his mouth for a few moments. When he realized he pulled Seonghwa away from the soldiers passing by on the streets of the camp, which increasingly looked like slums. Pulling him near a pile of junk food cans from rations distributed by American troops. Mingi couldn't understand how they could talk about this kind of taboo so casually when it was clearly not allowed at all.

"What do you mean? Can't you be disrespectfully discharged if you get caught doing this with a fellow man?"

Seonghwa laughed, "I know you're innocent, Mingi... but not this innocent." Seonghwa's laugh earlier seemed to hurt his teeth a little. He used his index finger to rub a kind of balm that seemed to be the medical prescription.

Seonghwa pulled him to join squatting next to him, Mingi followed his friend and squatted slowly. Seonghwa offered cigarettes to Mingi. This time Mingi shook his head, refused.

"Since I first saw you, I know you came to this battlefield in principle. Not those who were forcibly withdrawn from home, not those who sought retirement money after the war was over. " Seonghwa smoked his cigarette like breathing.

"Why did you come here? I know you have the chance to leave this peninsula. But you chose to leave your mother and brother, come back and turn to the battlefield, like submitting a life. You have never been too vocal about your political position as a defender of Southern ideology, so why?" Inhale... exhale... Seonghwa's cigarette smoke soared into the air. Usually during the day they could see the plane milling about, carrying food and so on.

To be honest, Mingi also did not understand why he turned around. He remembered reading a newspaper. A leaflet seven days ago which reported the looting and burning of the community area was where Mingi's house was located. He remembered his father. The death rate was written. Fifty people died either burned or beaten and stripped naked. He had no idea. Northern Ideology wanted leveling. Justice. But he knew Northern ideology was also misused to satisfy greed, thirst for bloodshed.

Southern ideology did not mean better. Freedom, of course, only applied to owners of capital. Mingi was not naive.

But throughout his twenty years, his house in Seoul was his hometown. And he wanted to keep it.

"My father is still in Seoul. He insisted on staying and securing our property. I turned around to pick him up... but then was forced to attend a training camp." Mingi was lying.

Somehow something said Seonghwa knew what he was talking about was bullshit.

"Ah..." Seonghwa made a sound as if he understood. He perhaps understood that at this time he could not extract other information from Mingi.

So he stood up. Turning off the cigarette butts with the tips of his boots. Handing three cigarette butts toward Mingi. "To pay Yunho..." he said lightly. As if he just told Mingi to buy salt at the market.

"I'm not interested," Mingi said, after Seonghwa's steps.

"You stare at that arrogant thin’s bare chest every day, even more thoroughly every time Yunho has given his service and he wears his white T-shirt. You're interested."

Mingi realized he had to reduce the habit of spying on Yunho before anyone else misunderstood.

"You said we must pay Yunho with a few dollars and three cigarette butts." He was about to hand back the Marlboro brand of cigarettes, apparently something Seonghwa won from gambling with the American army.

"I said the price went down to three cigarette butts. I didn't say the dollar remained, idiot!” Seonghwa said, smacking Mingi's forehead weakly and walking away. His smile was meaningful as he cheerfully greeted the other friends.

Mingi was silent there, with three cigarette butts in his hand. Wondering what had just happened before him, it seemed even more confusing than the war between the divided peninsulas.

That night, Mingi thought of trying. Before then he saw Yunho chatting with Jung Chanwoo and they disappeared into the darkness of the bushes.

Mingi thought, no. Such a life was not for him.

***

Mingi wasn't sure he could, even if forced, be brave enough to try to approach Yunho. The skinny young man intimidated him, without even having to say anything. Not like Yunho also tried to be friendly with him.

He didn't even remember Mingi or Jongho’s name even though they had been in a tent with him for more than ten days. Mingi thought about trying to give the three cigarette butts for free without asking for any services from Yunho. But Mingi naturally shrank his guts when he was faced with Jung Yunho's cynical stare at him.

Until he forgot about the cigarette butts he stored in a small notebook slip.

Until he finally received a letter from his brother, informing that his mother and he had arrived in America safely. Asking Mingi to look after himself, of course. Mingi composed short sentences, and sent a reply as soon as possible.

Until they marched again with American and Indian troops to re-invade toward the village of citizens who were now said to be the headquarters of the addition army from China.

They were guerrilla toward the hills. The steep and slippery forest due to rain actually became the main enemy even before they arrived at the enemy base. One-eighth of the troops were sent home due to malaria mosquito bites.

Cold night air was also the biggest challenge, Mingi found himself sharing a foxhole with Yunho and Seonghwa on their fifth night of guerrilla fighting. Walking with moist boots full of fungus. Seonghwa and Yunho argued in whisper about something might be the best recipe for kimchi or which part of pork was the most delicious to grill. Mingi tried to fall asleep because, this was indeed his turn to sleep. But he was really struck by the argument heating them up about food when his stomach was empty because they ate last afternoon. They must save rations since their target of village turned out to be further than they had expected.

Besides, traveling in the rain during the day also slowed their movements. There have already been two American soldiers who slipped and died on a cliff. Mingi tried to close his eyes tighter to get rid of the picture of the soldier who was screaming for help without anyone bothering. It was too risky to help him and their leader did not want to lose any more soldiers. It was just the screaming for help from a half-cut body and half-broken head, seemed pleading through the last power of consciousness.

Mingi was about to fall asleep when he heard Yunho move to secure his rifle. Seonghwa grabbed a binocular from the side of Mingi's body that laid on the foxhole wall. There was movement, Seonghwa whispered. Putting Mingi back into standby mode in a split second.

He pulled the tenure thread they used to communicate with the closest foxhole, giving a signal of possible enemy movements and sudden attacks.

Mingi could feel at least ten nearby foxholes had returned to alert. He also prepared his rifle, trying to guess the figure emerged from the bush.

And they were not soldiers. Two little kids, one of which was a girl about three years old, holding a rag doll and the other was a boy with a slightly fat body proportion, but his face looked gaunt, he might be around ten or eleven years old. He heard Seonghwa as the command owner in the front row of foxhole telling Yunho, "Hold fire," when he then crawled out slowly.

"Mom! Mom!" The little girl cried for her mother. Clearly scared.

"Seonghwa! Get back!" Yunho warned. "What if it's a trap?!" This was the first time Mingi heard Yunho sound a little worried about what was happening.

"It's just a kid," Seonghwa whispered in a tender pitying voice. Mingi looked at Seonghwa thinking for a moment, crouching in front of their foxhole.

Before then walking slowly. Yunho bit his lip. Mingi held his breath.

Seonghwa said softly. Come here, It's okay, to the kids. Yunho and Mingi at the same time saw lightning on the big boy's clothes that was holding his sister closer.

"SEONGHWA!!!" Mingi screamed, and the little girl then shouted, "Mom!!!" Happened together. Explosion occurred.

Mingi's ears were filled with buzzing sounds and then there was smoke.

He saw the boy's body parts scattered. Seonghwa and the girl embraced each other with burns all over their bodies. Black. North Korean and Chinese troops invaded. He saw Captain Hongjoong wiping his tears before leaving his foxhole and shouted again. Giving the command and on cue.

The smell of blood.

The smell of grilled meat.

Screams.

Entering a quiet night with riots and violence.

With dead bodies.

Mingi hasn't been aware of since when. But he suddenly pulled Yunho back to foxhole which was quite far behind them.

"You are okay." Mingi didn't ask. He convinced himself Yunho was okay. He saw Yunho almost running towards Seonghwa. Mingi almost lost two of his teammates if he didn't pull Yunho away to lie face down in their foxhole.

It was a miracle that Mingi and Yunho were not hit by any shots.

"Damn it!" Yunho, who seemed to have finished with his shocked phase, ran out with his rifle and fired at whoever was in his shooting range. Mingi heard the scream of death from Yunho's rage.

Mingi followed behind Yunho. They moved together. Mingi saw Yunho taking out his dagger which was long enough for a knife. Stabbing the hearts of Chinese army’s that increasingly flocked barging into their headquarters.

"Fuck you all! Using CHILDREN?!!!" Yunho looked like an insane yet a god of death. When his bullets ran out, Mingi gave his rifle and took cover behind Yunho's fire when refilling his shotgun.

They breathed in darkness, spitting blood from the fire of wrath.

"FOR SEONGHWA!!!" Yunho shouted, Mingi muttered amen when protecting Yunho's back which was the blind spot.

Mingi saw the American Flame Blower forces acted. Mortar fire repelled the remnants of the troops.

Mingi inhaled, when he turned around and found Yunho standing in a pile of bodies without heads, arms without bodies, feet without fingers. He stood on a pile of corpses. When the morning sun rised from the east.

Illuminating the young man's brownish red clothes. Full of blood.

There were tears in his eyes.

Missing something Mingi didn't understand.

***

As expected, their troops finally walked back to the original post. The unexpected battle that night took up most of their food supply and weapons availability. Although not completely defeated, they lost more than half of the Korean troops who guarded the foxhole post that night. It was better to go back and strategize.

He watched Captain Hongjoong in frustration which he tried to manipulate with a calm expression. Looking in a pile of corpses mixed with mud and ash. Looking for the vice captain. He found it. The dead body of Seonghwa who was still hugging the little girl, both bodies clinging because, their burns got their skin melt, fused. But part of Seonghwa's unburned face revealed a smile. And Mingi knew seconds when he saw his captain crying and screaming the name of his best friend. When Seonghwa's corpse passed by Mingi and Yunho, Yunho stopped the stretcher carrying their friend's body. Taking out his dagger, he took the embroidered captain's rank along with the name on his uniform.

Handing it to their captain, "Stop crying, you have his name now." His words were icy. Nearly cynical. Almost like criticism. But their captain stopped crying, holding Seonghwa's name in his hand.

That morning was the first time Mingi saw Yunho killing in the bright sunlight. Mingi was helping to find the corpses of their comrades when a soldier from the American army tried to take the golden teeth of the North Korean troop who was still alive.

His screams were deafening. Something that should have been a normal sound for Mingi. But he frowned. He still tried to kill when he needed to. If they were still alive, just put them in a cell.

Yunho shot the soldier's head. He died. "It's easier to get their teeth if they are quiet," he said coldly.

For some reason, Mingi thought Yunho committed the murder for him. So he smiled a little. Yunho, of course, turned away.

Then walking away. Towards a more spacious and empty field.

Mingi followed him, like a true stalker behind him. At least it was useful on the battlefield, Mingi's habit of watching Yunho's movements helped him follow Yunho and protected the young man's blind spots when they were in battle mode like last night.

They stood side by side, watching the newly arrived American tank. Bringing home some of the bodies of their troops.

"If you think I will thank you, you are mistaken." Yunho suddenly spoke. That was the longest sentence Yunho ever said to Mingi.

Mingi stammered trying to answer. Then he remembered the three cigarette butts Seonghwa gave him. Taking out from his notebook, he gave one butt to Yunho. Yunho seemed to recognize the brand, "Damn that bitch..." Yunho muttered. A little chuckle. A cute laugh Mingi did not understand the humor. But he smiled too.

Damn, Mingi thought. He wanted to make Yunho chuckle again like before.

Taking the cigarette from Mingi's hand and reached into the lighter in his pants pocket, he turned it on.

"You too," he said, throwing Mingi a lighter with a layer of cheap white plastic paint. Luckily Mingi caught reflex enough. Mingi had smoked before, he was not as naive as people thought. But he tried to avoid it.

Mingi slipped one of the cigarette butts Seonghwa gave to his lips. Biting it when trying to light Yunho's lighter. He wondered what was wrong but, he did not succeed either.

Mingi heard a small chuckle before Yunho's face was in front of his. Meeting the tip of the lit cigarette on Yunho's lips to the tip of Mingi’s cigarette.

They were very close.

Nicotine scent and warm breath.

Mingi's cheeks warmed up, for it felt like kissing.

Then Yunho laughed, coughing from being choked on his own cigarette smoke.

"You are very ugly, Rich Boy," Yunho said mockingly. Mingi got courage from somewhere, to gently hit Yunho's upper arm. Which Yunho gave him a small hit as well. Then both chuckled. Mingi had a good feeling about this.

***

Pyongyang, 1952

Mingi had a bad feeling about this. He did not mean to overhear. He really didn't mean anything. He just accidentally passed the American army camp. Yunho coughed and had a slight fever since last night. He did not want them to take him to a medical tent because, he thought if he had to die in this war, he would not die among yellow-faced people. For him it was the most pathetic death could occur in this war. Even worse than just dying from being tucked and falling from a cliff.

So Mingi took care of Yunho with improvised equipment, towels dipped in warm water and eucalyptus leaves to ease complaints of nasal congestion.

Mingi did not want to lose any of his friends anymore. Their small team was scattered. Hwangda village was 18.64 miles before Pyongyang. Their platoon troops were brought back home, staged a week before being moved back to Pyongyang by land, turning west. The journey to the village which became the headquarters of North Korea's weapons storage was actually not as bad as the cliffs they went through in Mingi’s first battle with his new team.

The problem was that the village they would take over turned out to be a complete headquarters with airfield. Military airport.

If according to estimates, their battle should only last a day or two. But the North Korean troops which this time assisted by the Japanese to guard the airfield did not want to give up so easily. Daring to burn themselves shouting their emperor's name.

There was no time to dig foxholes, they slept behind the rubble. Yunho was now always looking for the closest position to Mingi, even when Hongjoong told Yunho to partner with San. He refused and almost made a fuss before his respected Captain finally relented.

When Yunho went out of control and nearly opened fire on civilians on the tenth day of the battle which was supposed to last only two days, Mingi put his hand on the gun hole before Yunho could pull the trigger.

Mingi helped Yunho open the can of ration distributed to them. Mingi made sure Yunho didn't forget to drink before they ran back to the middle of the battlefield. They were a great team. Jongho once commented he didn't understand how but, Mingi had never found the right partner in the team before. And now he seemed to find it.

They fought like one body. If they had to go forward carrying mortars, both of them shoulder to shoulder. On one occasion Mingi was close to a grenade shot and his ears were buzzing violently. Yunho dragged him running when he said he was okay. Just like in the night of Seonghwa's death. They lost San on the fifth day of battle, Wooyoung said San took the bullet aimed at him. San died for Wooyoung, Wooyoung saw his best friend's bloody head from being hit by a shot right in his temple. Jongho was shot in the leg, Yeosang had a burn in his hand.

Hongjoong later found himself only having two soldiers in his team.

Mingi and Yunho were joined by another team. And Mingi knew that it was not just him who was increasingly possessive. They always touched. Making sure to be close to each other. Even when they needed to urinate or defecate. It was not surprising that North Korean soldiers could sneak up and kill you even when you were fulfilling biological needs. Mingi and Yunho always did everything in pairs. And if anyone dared to comment or just look at them strangely, Yunho and his cynical cold-blooded killer gaze would silence their mouths.

They finally defeated the airfield on the twelfth day. Mingi remembered Yunho vomiting his first peach after twelve days they only ate cold meat from the can of rations they received. Mingi remembered the first time he saw Yunho's pale face after he spewed all the warm food from his stomach, his vomit and some yellow liquid. Mingi remembered he refrained from hugging Yunho and from kissing his red-looking lips after Mingi gave him warm water so Yunho felt better.

Back to the present, Mingi arrived in front of the tent where there was only Yunho that was scarier from having a fever.

"Did you find the extract and oil of... what's it called, fileng, rich boy?" Oh, and Yunho became annoying when he was sick.

"Filcher oil... I've put it together..." Mingi was lucky he at least had a doctor father and a bit of his medical knowledge helped his friends. Not only Yunho. Sometimes the medical staff they sent to help were boys who were too weak to take up arms but also lack the ability to do first aid.

Mingi took out the bag he made from gauze and cotton, creating camphor to help Yunho's respiratory tract which seemed to be blocked due to his flu. Putting the camphor beside the pillow and pouch of ingredients in his personal needs bag.

"Ahhh..." Yunho moaned, awakening something in Mingi. Okay. Focus. "Finally I can feel the air, your filcher oil is better than yesterday's euca-euca leaves." Yunho chuckled. Mingi showed a small smile. The young man's chuckle became a music and appreciation for Mingi.

"What is wrong with you?" And Yunho now was the same as Mingi, he could see when Mingi was uncomfortable or something was bothering his mind.

"I overheard the conversation of the Commander of the American Forces Battalion with one of their Captains. Seoul was conquered again."

"Oh." Yunho sounded sad. 

"This is the third time. We repelled the North to the parallel 38 border, but they were stubborn and re-conquered Seoul. I'm getting fed up with this all." 

Yunho was not the first, Mingi believed. He saw one by one his soldier friends who were taken to the medical barracks no longer because of physical injuries. But psychic shock.

A week ago Mingi found Jaehyun, one of his training camp friends, dead with brain contents scattering near the bathing barracks. Mingi who saw the opened empty eyes from his friend's dead body, promised that no matter how crazy this war made him want to die, he would survive to ensure Yunho come out of this place healthily without any injury.

"Yunho, do you believe me?"

Yunho who was busy inhaling his camphor and daydreaming at that moment, put on a confused look.

"Would you run away with me? We can find a way to the harbor, my mother and brother were already in America first. We will have a new life...” The voice from Mingi's throat was extremely sure. Something he did not understand because, he himself did not understand where this courage came from.

And Yunho laughed. Like he just had heard the funniest joke in his entire life.

Mingi was slightly offended at his plan to be laughed at but, half his heart was slightly flattered because, he managed to make the young man in front of him laugh. Damn. He would really worship the land Yunho stepped on if the young man wanted it.

Then with a mischievous smile the young man said, "You will not be able to escape from this war, you are too knight for such cowards. Too virtuous, the proof is you don't even dare to kiss me." There was a sad tone at the end of the words. A sad and resigned tone Mingi could not understand.

"Stop frowning. I understand you are not a lowly guy like me who suck on other men's penises to just get a cigarette.”

"You're not lowly," Mingi protested.

Yunho chuckled, a sadness hung in his round eyes this time. Not the view Yunho's face usually showed. Mingi did not like it. Sadness and humility were not things Yunho should have.

"Seonghwa said you were interested in me. I punched him that night because, he said he gave you three cigarette butts to pay me. I was not interested in you, to be honest. At first. You are the type of rich young man who comes to war with all his patriotic nonsense, usually if you are not the first to die because your rich parents never made you need to survive, usually become the first soldier to cry asking to go back to their parents." Yunho put the camphor he was inhaling beside the pillow. "But I understand now, I hate you because I can't reach you."

Nonsense, Mingi thought.

Which then removed the space. Their kiss was initially just a peck. Friction between the skin of their lips.

Yunho’s eyes widened when he moved away, Mingi’s actions had his round eyes increasingly rounded up.

"If I'm too far away for you to reach. I will drop myself to be with you," before their lips collided again. This time Mingi dominated, licked and bit Yunho's lower lip.

Yunho could only moan under this love magic.

***


End file.
